Tour Day Twelve - Yokohama

As soon as we stepped off the train and reached the streets of Yokohama I was buzzed. This place has been on my bucket list for a while.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and went exploring.

As Yokohama is right on the waterfront the weather was both warm and windy, making the stroll a pleasant change from some of the muggier places. It was even better with icecream!

We visited a pokemon shop and ghibli store inside the base of Landmark Tower, and I also snuck in ten minutes at a manga shop.

After a bit of gentle nudging I was convinced to swallow my fears and venture up to the 69th floor of Landmark Tower Observatory in the worlds fastest elevator.

I'm so glad I did, the views from the top were incredible and it was very surreal to find a cafe that high up!

Tour Day Twelve - Golden Pavillion

This morning we left the Ryokan at 8:30 and caught a bus across Kyoto to visit the Golden Pavillion.

Unfortunately even this early on a Saturday the place was crawling with schoolchildren.

We lit wish candles and left them on a shrine, then stocked up on trinkets.

Luckily we managed to get a few good shots before heading to our next destination.

Tour Day Eleven - Nightlife

In the evening we went back to the 'English Pub' with Andy and Frank. We shared some drinks (baileys chocolate milkshake is far too tasty) and the guys were tempted into drinking a 'Tarantula' cocktail and one that was blacked out on the menu, known only as 'X'.

After inquiring at the bar we discovered that X was a mixture of whatever different spirits the bartender currently felt like putting together. Only one of us was brave enough to try it!

Tour Day Eleven - Nijo Castle

After the Inari shrine we headed by bus to Nijo-jo to look around the castle grounds. There were some beautiful gardens and we had to take our shoes off to look around inside.

Afterwards our little group headed for lunch and then split up to do some independent shopping. I brought a fancy new suitcase!

Hayley and myself found a photobooth that allowed us to strike poses and then alter them by drawing all over them.

Tour Day Eleven - Inari Shrine

Today the group split for a 'free day'. There's so much to see in Kyoto that there would be no way to please everyone.

First thing in the morning a bunch of us hopped on the train to go see the famous Inari Shrine.

This shrine has fox guardians and hundreds or orange tori gates.

It was a great atmosphere and by going first thing I think we missed the main rush!

Tour Day Ten - Gion

Today we headed to Kyoto.

We began our tour by looking around the Geisha districts and the Kodai-Ji Temple along with it's lovely gardens.

We stopped for dinner and had Chicken Hot Pot cooked at our table. Although it wasn't really our kind of thing it was an interesting experience.

Tonight we went out to an 'English' Pub with some of our group. We drank cocktails and beers while chatting.

It's sad to think we only have a couple of days of their company left.

Tour Day Nine - Kurashiki

Today we travelled to Kurashiki by train.

Our tour leader organised a three hour bike ride for any group members who fancied a go.

Not being big fans of bike riding we opted to take today as a 'free' day instead and do some exploring.

We went for a walk through Kurashiki old district and sought out the small Natural History Museum, the Art Gallery and the Toy Museum.

We struggled to find anywhere for lunch as the area was more expensive than most we have visited and the menus not as diverse. This was also the first time we have really hit a language barrier during our stay - most places only had Japanese menus with no pictures and we were not brave enough to order blindly!

We did manage to find a nice little italian place for dinner though.